Exclusive of the weekly editions of the daily journals, there are about
133 weekly papers published in the city of New York. Some of these are
literary journals, some political, some the organs of the various
religious bodies, and some devoted to the interests of trade and
manufactures.
The best known weeklies are the literary, religious, and political
papers, and of these the most noted are, _Harper's Weekly_, _Harper's
Bazaar_, _Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper_, the _Nation_, the
_Chimney Corner_, the _Ledger_, _Home Journal_, _Weekly Review_, _Sunday
Mercury_, _New York Weekly_, _Hearth and Home_, the_ Sunday News_, the_
Albion_, _Dispatch_, _Sunday Times_, _Citizen_, _Revolution_, _Spirit of
the Times_, and _Police Gazette_, among the secular papers. The most
prominent religious journals are the _Independent_, _Examiner_,
_Evangelist_, _Methodist_, _Observer_, _Tablet_, _Liberal Christian_,
_Christian Advocate_, _Christian Union_, _Christian Inquirer_, and
_Church Journal_.
The _Ledger_ has the largest circulation, having an actual sale of
300,000 copies per week. It is so well known throughout the country that
it would be superfluous to describe it here. It is the property of Mr.
Robert Bonner, who has reaped a large fortune from it. Next in
popularity is the _New York Weekly_, which is much inferior to the
_Ledger_, but which claims a circulation of over 200,000 copies. There
are about a dozen illustrated papers of various degrees of merit,
_Harper's Weekly_, the _Bazaar_, and _Frank Leslie's Illustrated
Newspaper_ head the list in popularity and worth. The first and second
claim a circulation of over one hundred thousand, and Frank Leslie claims
about seventy-five thousand for his paper. Some of the other illustrated
journals are simply indecent sheets, and should be suppressed. The
_Nation_ is regarded as the highest critical authority in the country,
and holds here very much the position of the _Saturday Review_ in London.
The literary journals are well conducted, and one will often find
articles of genuine merit in some of the most unpretending. The reason
is that journalists are unable to live on their salaries, as a rule, if
they be married men, and are forced to make up the deficiency by
contributing to the magazines and weekly papers. As a matter of course,
they must dispose of their wares wherever there is a market, and where
they are sure of being paid, even at starvation rates, for their labors.
From $2.50 to $5.00 per column is the rate of payment with the most of
the weeklies, and many men and women with whose names and labors the
literary world is familiar, are glad to write for them at this beggarly
price as a means of increasing their legitimate incomes. The number of
writers is very much in excess of the demand, and literature offers a
thorny road to the majority of its followers in the metropolis.
The Sunday papers are generally high priced and nasty. They are entirely
sensational in character, and are devoted to a class of news and
literature which can hardly be termed healthy. They revel in detailed
descriptions of subjects which are rigorously excluded from the daily
papers, and abound in questionable advertisements. All of which they
offer for Sabbath reading; and the reader would be startled to see into
how many reputable households these dirty sheets find their way.